A common drawback of polymeric resins is their flammability. This property hinders their usage. As a result, it has been common to incorporate amounts of flame retardants into resins. Representative such retardants most commonly include phosphorous-, antimony- and halogen-containing compounds.
Unfortunately several factors may reduce the desirability of such well known fire retardants. With some resins, they may induce degradation of the polymer or its properties and/or evidence less than expected effectiveness. These and other known factors may render the polymeric resins unsuitable for many specific applications.
According to the present invention, there is provided a means of avoiding the foregoing drawbacks and undesirable factors of conventional resins and fire retardants. This means involves incorporating a blend of hydrated alumina and polyphenylene oxide, alone, or with polydiorganosiloxane into the normally flammable polymeric resin. This blend produces a plastic composition having improved fire resistance, while avoiding the adverse affects incident to conventional fire retardant additives.